Microclimates

Rivers

In a rivers study, you will be measuring parameters such as::

Measurement	Equipment	Units	Chart and Graphs
Width	Tape Measure	cm or metres	n/a
Depth	Metre Rule	cm or metres	n/a
Velocity	Flow Meter - time in seconds how long it takes the propeller to travel the total distance of the screw!	m / sec (metres per second)	Convert your time in seconds into the velocity in metres per second using the - Flow Meter Calibration Chart
Discharge	You don't measure this - but you can calculate it as long as you have take your width, depth and velocity measurements!	cumecs (cubic metres per second)	Calculation (see Waugh) Q = V x A
Wetted Perimeter	Tape Measure
Substrate	Your own assessment of the % of: cobbles, gravel, sand and silt on the bed of the river within a 50cm x 50cm area	Must add up to 100% - e.g. 70% cobbles, 20% gravel, 10% silt	n/a
Aquatic Invertebrates	Kick Net, Tray, Identification Sheet, Biological Indicator Sheet	n/a	Identification Sheet Biological Indicator Sheet
Bank Erosion	15cm (6") nails - buy them from B&Q / Homebase!	cm	n/a
Water Turbidity	Clear plastic bottles - e.g. 50cl volvic / cola bottles	Shake bottles - time in seconds how long it takes for the froth to clear
Water Temperature	Thermometer	^oC
Riparian Vegetation	Quadrat	% vegetation cover	Vegetation Identification Sheet
Water pH	Nutrafin pH Test Kit - buy from Shirley Aquatics - should be about pH7 close to neutral	pH	If measuring a small stream/river pH may not give good results
Water conductivity	Conductivity probe - measures the amount of salts present in the water - the higher the reading the greater the level of pollution	u/S	If measuring a small stream/river conductivity readings may not give good results

In the exam you may be tested on your ability to interpret the following types of data presentation;

Dot maps - dots or symbols of a certain size represent a value (the larger the dot the more there is) such as average sediment size ( see Lenon & Cleves. p127)
Isoline maps - isolines are lines on a map that join points of similar value such as pollution levels ( see Lenon & Cleves. p127)
Flow maps - lines show number of movements such as velocity ( see Lenon & Cleves. p131)
Choropleth maps - areas on the map are shaded with the colour representing a set of values (listed in the key) such as erosion rates ( see Lenon & Cleves. p130)
Line Graphs - to display continuous data such as changes in particle size with increased velocity ( see Lenon & Cleves. p123 or Hjulstrom curve in Waugh. p72)
Histograms - to display continuous data in frequencies such as bedload size ( see Lenon & Cleves. p124)
Frequency Curves - to display continuous data in frequencies such as bedload size as a smooth curve rather than as discrete bars ( see Lenon & Cleves. p124)
Scatter Graphs - to display the relationship between two variables such as size of bedload and discharge ( see Waugh. p635 or Lenon & Cleves. p125)
Pie Charts - to display the proportion of a total in each category such as the percentage of each type of vegetation (try to avoid death by pie charts though) ( see Lenon & Cleves. p126)
Long and Cross sections - to display the profile of the river as if you were looking at it from the side or the shape of the river channel as if you were cutting through it (see Waugh. p69/70)

You will need to know how to use the following data interpretation skills;

Checklist -
Cross tabulation -
Conflict matrices -
Scaling -
Ranking - Putting data in order of importance / relevance
Weighting - Giving more relevant / significant data greater importance

You need to understand how to use the following statistical calculations to measure central tendency and significance;

Mean - is the average score ( = total of all readings / number of readings ) (see Lenon & Cleves. p133)
Median - is the mid-point score ( = the central reading when they are all placed in rank order) (see Lenon & Cleves. p133)
Mode - is the most common score ( = the reading that happens the most times) (see Lenon & Cleves. p133)
Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient - to measure if there is a significant link between two variables such as size of bedload and discharge ( see Waugh. p636).

What else do you need to be able to do for the exam?

You need to be able to draw conclusions from your analysis.
Remember that it is important to be able to evaluate and justify your work. Why did you pick the data collection , data presentation and statistical analysis methods that you did?
You also need to be able to make suggestions for further research (what question needs to be answered next)